Based on a True Story! It's Irish Danny vs. The Mafia in 1970's Cleveland organized crime war. Well cast independant film, lots of car explosions. Story sags a bit in the middle of the film, pacing seems a bit off. No new ground broken as a typical mob-gangster film. Worth one watch, good source for both Irish and Italian ethnic slurs.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Based on a True Story! A rich New York socialite in the 1940's, who is one of the city's most well known music patrons, returns to performing late in life. She is oblivious to the fact that she is a terrible singer and everyone in her circle keeps that fact from her. Nice light comedy, I hadn't been aware of this film until they showed a clip from it during the Oscars (Meryl Streep nominated). I was curious to see this as the clip featured David Haig, who was hilarious in The Thin Blue Line TV show, a favorite of mine.

Hugh Grant, as the woman's husband, was pretty funny in an understated sort of way, and I got many laughs from much of his dialogue. Streep played it mostly serious, but the off key singing was not really funny. Surprisingly interesting role for Simon Helberg from The Big Bang Theory, as the piano player, where he doesn't play a total jerk like everything else I've seen him in. Haig's role as a vocal coach was too short. Not a film I would normally seek out, but I'm glad I saw it. Worth repeated viewing. Great soundtrack if you like classical piano.

Hysteria (2011)

Based on a True Story! It's 1880 England and a young doctor is having problems keeping a job, as he embraces newer scientific methoda of medicine that hospitals and other practices refuse to apply yet. They are still treating people with leeches, etc. Anyway, he gets hired by a doctor whose main practice is treating women with "female hysteria", by manually "stimulating" them. He is successful until he develops a wrist injury and his patients start complaining. He eventually takes one of his inventor roommate's gadgets and invents the female sex vibrator. There is a subplot where he is set to marry the older doctor's young daughter, who is meek and demure, but winds up falling for the older daughter who is an obnoxious suffragette and feminist. Film was listed as a comedy, but kinda fell short on that. Another one watch movie for me.

The main reason I watched this was the younger daughter was played by Felicity Jones, who I had never seen in anything other than Rogue One, which I thought she was rather poor in. She seemed better suited to a role like this. My biggest complaint about her in RO was her lack of emotion; she pretty much had the same pouty facial expression though the whole film. After seeing this, I can guess maybe she was directed to do that? In this, when she smiles, she is downright goofy looking.

Another movie Based on a True Story! From what I gather, though, it's pretty far removed from the people/events it is based on. This is a made for TV movie from. . . Lifetime Movie Network. Not a usual viewing choice of mine, but occasionally I'll watch something here. LMN is a lot like SyFy Channel, in that they show B grade (or less) movies made just for them. A lot of it is crap, but these are where many up and coming new filmmakers get a chance to break into the pro film world. You gotta start somewhere.

Three things converged to hook me into this movie: I was nursing an injured knee, so I was a bit comfortably numb; the title seemed to promise a certain level of sleaze; and I have a thing for cute girls with glasses.

A young girl from a fairly strict Catholic family gets her dream of being accepted to Duke University. As she starts school, her father, a military reserve doctor, gets called up to go to Afghanistan. This puts the family in a financial bind, and the girl fears having to leave school. In order to make money for school, she eventually winds up working in porn. She tries to keep it a secret, but eventually everyone finds out. This is where the movie turns totally predictable; she gets harassed and cyber bullied, her parents are devastated, she fights back and becomes a minor celebrity preaching a heavy handed feminist message (her major is in Women's Studies). This, in turn, pisses off all the people in the porn industry she was working with and eventually she is left isolated with only a handful of close friends, and ends up aspiring to politics.

I liked this movie, it is pretty much an exploitation film. Some lurid subject matter, and the way they use all the trendy buzzwords with in your face frankness, the elements of exploitation are there. Since it is Lifetime, it's pro woman but also kinda anti-porn, but the message in the end hit me as being, If everyone hates you already anyway, might as well be a politician.

I really enjoyed it Slim, hope you do too. Studio films this year have delivered or exceeded my expectations this year for the most part. Wonder Woman caught me off guard a little bit I'll admit. I expected it to be good but I didn't expect such a sincere and well-crafted film. It's an old-fashioned and inspired action adventure movie, what's not to love?

I tend to tune that stuff out for the most part. It's biggest victory is its ability to rise above the petty conversations. Patty Jenkins is a woman but also a great director. That's what matters. I'm over the moon for her. They can have nice things and have made a nice thing that I can have as a nice thing. Bottom line is that this is a nice thing! Everyone is celebrating this as a nice thing for a variety of different reasons. NICE THINGS PEOPLE! NICE THINGS LET'S KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE.

This year in Logan and Wonder Woman we've seen nearly a complete revitalisation of the state of comic book movies, I was starting to sour on the mega franchises, sequels and reboots but if we get one or two films like the ones we got this year my interest won't wane quite as heavily. Both are a part of a larger universe but exist as their own stories which I found very refreshing. One is like a stripped down Western and the other is like something Spielberg and Lucas would have made in the 80's. I don't know if it's because 2016 was so crap but I am very pleased with how this year is panning out.

Given that I dated a Samoan and that I'm very close friends with a Hawaiian Polynesian, I could relate to a lot of things in this movie. I thought it was really well done. Catchy music as you'd expect from a Disney blockbuster, lots of humour, a story you care about and characters that all stand out. The Rock was great and the voice actor for Moana did a fantastic job. I was blown away when I saw she was only 16 and this was her first ever movie role.

"My favourite spot is the one where I would pick him up for an aeroplane spin and rotate as many times as possible. He’d be so dizzy that he would try to pin the referee, and I’d count to three and he’d think that he won - Daniel Bryan

Love Moana! Glad Disney went the extra mile to cast a talent Polynesian girl for the role of Moana. Could've been real easy for them to just go into the Disney rolodex and get a name from their, so good on them for wanting the movie as cultural respectful and accurate as possible.

Saw Wonder Woman this past Saturday. Color me impressed by the film and everything that went into it. If you are interested, here are my general thoughts on where the DCEU stands as of now. Check it out on Machomars.blog!